I Am the Biblioteca: Alondra Rosas

Alondra Rosas

By Karla Ortiz

When you walk into the Teatro Santa Ana, have breakfast in the cafeteria, buy something at the Tesoros Store, or read this Atención article, you’re helping La Biblioteca and therefore helping more young people to finish their schooling and complete their life projects. One of these people is Alondra Rosas, who holds a scholarship from La Biblioteca. She has learned to take all the opportunities presented to her with a young and enterprising spirit. Like other young scholarship holders, she has learned that she can achieve her dreams with a strong focus on her efforts.

When Alondra was a child, she played with her cousins in a vacant lot five minutes away from home. Sometimes they were creative and cut off the maguey leaves, using them as slides. They also spent entire days watching cartoons. At that time, Alondra was a student with a regular grade-point average, but as she entered high school, she began to look toward her future. Her grades went up. She had always liked history in general and Mexican history in particular, but in high school she thought of becoming a doctor. This idea changed over time when she learned the amount of time a doctor spends on the job. She knew then that it wasn’t her calling and began to look for something else. The high school where she studied was the SABES municipal head office. There, one of the moments that marked her life took place. So far it has opened the doors to a world of many different possibilities. During high school, she and her team members created a project focused on helping their communities. They held cultural workshops in painting, drawing, math, and dance. It turned out that her project was part of the cultural science week that takes place in all the SABES schools, first in San Miguel, then in the regional area, and later, in the state. Alondra was the speaker for the presentation, responsible for explaining and convincing the judges why their project was the best. In San Miguel de Allende, her group won first place. Then they went to compete in San Felipe and took 5th place. This did not disappoint Alondra. It was the reason for continuing to undertake and create projects for the benefit of the community.

She wanted to apply for a bachelor’s degree in English Language Teaching at the University of Guanajuato, and, as a second option, she planned to study for a bachelor’s degree in history. Due to family problems, she was unable to go so far away from home and chose to look for a university in San Miguel. She had an acquaintance in her community who studied tourism at the Technological University of SMA (UTSMA). Alondra approached her to ask about the subjects and what was appealing about the career. In tourism, there was an opportunity to learn history and languages, which were of interest to Alondra. She was eager to get a scholarship to travel to France, and she also enrolled in English and French classes at the UTSMA. For some time she studied English classes for children at La Biblioteca. She was also studying on her own until she got to the B1 level of French. One day, while Alondra was walking through the halls of the university, the woman who is in charge of school services told her that there was a scholarship that might interest her and that she should come to the office to learn about it. Leaders in Canada was the perfect program for Alondra. For two months and two weeks, all paid, she could choose her courses in English or French. For her it was better to take French because in San Miguel French classes are more expensive than English. When she reviewed the scholarship requirements, she saw that it would not be a very difficult challenge because one of the main requirements was to have a project in social leadership that would have an impact on society and the media. The project she entered was the one she had done in high school, taking workshops to children in the communities. She also sent a video explaining what motivates and excites her and wrote a description of her proposed academic path. A few days later, she received an email that said she could participate in the next stage. She took an online exam from the university in Canada where she was going to study. A week later, she received another email advising that she was selected as a finalist and was to present herself for an interview before the Canadian Embassy and representatives of EDUCAFIN in León at 10am. Alondra’s interview lasted until 3 pm. In the interview, Alondra explained that she intended to create an inclusive tour operation in San Miguel and bring social projects to the most important communities in the municipality. She talked about her passion for learning more languages. After the interviews, applicants waited until 6 pm when the finalists were announced. The French area was first, and the first name to be called was Alondra’s. She could not believe that she was really going to Canada. She left Léon airport on June 24 and the next day arrived at the university where she was going to stay. During the two and a half months that the group was in Canada, they learned a lot about the culture of that country, both in language and customs. They were given a schedule with all their classes and even an activity plan for their free time. Alondra had to leave her sick younger sister at home when she went to Canada, but her sister had told her that was what she wanted and to pursue her dreams. Two weeks after arriving in Canada, Alondra received the news that her sister had not overcome her illness. Alondra did not know whether to return to Mexico or stay in Canada to continue with the scholarship. Thanks to the support she received from all her colleagues during this time, Alondra did not abandon her dream. Despite the pain she had in her heart, she decided to stay in Canada because her sister had been very excited about the trip. “I do it for you, sister,” was her thought.

During her stay, she met a young man from the Universidad Tecnológica de Salamanca, who told her about the Red Líder (leadership network) project, run by EDUCAFIN to create a network of young leaders to support social projects in his city. Alondra was very impressed by the project, and on her way back to San Miguel, even with a heavy heart, she set out to create Red Líder in her city. She communicated with many young people from her university (UTSMA) and managed to gather 13 young people who will be carrying out EDUCAFIN’s projects, such as helping children with cancer, doing school projects, planting trees, improving the streets where they live, or doing career-oriented work.

Alondra’s goals are to learn seven different languages, continue looking for a scholarship to travel to France, and work on her project for the inclusive tour operator. Another project she has in mind, which was inspired by the library, is to create a foundation that supports young people in continuing their studies and going abroad. “I am very grateful to La Biblioteca for inspiring me and helping me a lot,” Alondra said.

“It was very difficult for me to find a scholarship for myself, but now I know that there are no limits. It’s just a matter of believing in yourself and being optimistic because if you don’t believe in yourself, you will never succeed. We young people can make the change, both socially and entrepreneurially. We just need to fight for our dreams, look for something that motivates us, and focus on that motivation because our goal is there, and that goal is waiting for us,” Alondra concluded.